Canadian Milos Raonic falls to Swiss Roger Federer in Cincinnati semi

CINCINNATI - Canadian Milos Raonic is leaving Cincinnati empty-handed after falling to Roger Federer in the semifinal of the Western & Southern Open on Saturday.

But he's choosing to view his loss to the No. 3-ranked player in the world as a learning experience.

"Everything is a lesson," Raonic said following his 6-2, 6-3 loss to the Swiss star. "I just couldn't play the way I wanted to."

Raonic, the fifth seed from Thornhill, Ont., barely had room to break in the opening set, which Federer won thanks to four love service games, and the five-time winner made a strong statement.

"In the second (set) I started getting rhythm, but I didn't win a point on his serve in the first set," Raonic said. "I served poorly the whole time, I've had trouble with my serve all week. I need to fix it but it's something I think we can easily do."

Earlier Saturday, Canadian Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Sock set up a rematch of their winning Wimbledon final as they stretched their unbeaten streak to 14 doubles matches.

The unseeded pairing beat the French team of Julien Benneteau and Eduardo Roger Vasselin 7-6 (5), 3-6, 10-6 and next face top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan after the Americans defeated compatriots Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey 6-3, 6-7 (5), 10-8.

Federer left Raonic with a 0-6 record in their series as the Canadian lost to the 33-year-old for the second time this season.

Raonic now stands 34-12 in 2014 as he heads to New York for final practice before the Aug. 25 start of the U.S. Open.

The 23-year-old, who won his sixth title last month in Washington, has not won a set against Federer since a tournament in Halle, Germany in 2012.

"I'm doing things right and winning matches, but I need to step up against the top guys," Raonic said.

Pospisil and Sock will bid for a third title after also winning in Atlanta last month.

"This win gives us a lot of confidence," said Pospisil, a Vancouver native. "They go into the match the favourites, we have nothing to lose.

"We'll give it our best shot. It was great to put ourselves in this situation again."

The two have not been beaten since first teaming up at Wimbledon. Their win in the quarter-finals topped the previous unbeaten streak of 12 set by Paul Annacone and Christo van Rensburg in 1984-85.

Pospisil and Sock advanced in just over 90 minutes, saving seven of the eight break points they faced and breaking the Frenchman twice.

In the third set, a match tiebreak, Pospisil unleashed a reflex volley to yield three match points for his team.

Pospisil and Sock advanced on their second chance with a Sock service winner.

"A 14-0 start is incredible, we certainly were not expecting it," said Pospisil.

"We've been playing well and today was another tough battle. Jack did a great job of raising the team spirit. I was a little flat sometimes. I was tired and lost a bit of concentration. We played great when we had to, we're thrilled to be in another final."